“What happened was that, some guys smoking Indian hemp in the market were fighting among themselves over the death of someone whom they gave an overdose of the hemp," an eyewitness stated.
A clash between two groups of hoodlums in Ketu Market, Lagos, on Monday, cost the life of one person, while many others were injured.
The clash was said to have been a consequence of the death of one of the hoodlums, who allegedly died of marijuana overdose.
An eyewitness, Musiliu, who spoke to PM News, narrated details of the incident.
He said: “What happened was that, some guys smoking Indian hemp in the market were fighting among themselves over the death of someone whom they gave an overdose of the hemp.
“Afterwards, the miscreants were seen carrying the corpse about in the market, chanting war songs and destroying anything in sight. I think that was when the policemen were called to intervene.
”The police detachment from Ketu Police Station came and started shooting sporadically in the market, while the miscreants were also seen facing them in spite of the shooting. The policemen later went back to reinforce and that caused a lot of trouble as the market people started running helter-skelter in order not to be caught up in the crisis.”
Another eyewitness, simply identified as Chioma, in her account, said: “We are tired of these jobless youths coming to Ketu to smoke Indian hemp in the market. They are causing trouble here in this market.
“It’s been long time that they have been smoking here causing trouble for us in the market. The trouble today started with them. They [attacked] those policemen that came to restore peace in the market.
“I think the policemen are not happy with their effrontery at repelling them, so the policemen went for reinforcement. Things got worse as the policemen came back to the market, shooting sporadically into the air while people ran for dear lives.”
Chike Oti, Spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, stated that normalcy had been restored in the troubled area.
He said: “Our men are there doing the needful. The police is proactive and we have been able to put the situation under control. The Lagos State Police Command will not relent until perpetrators are brought to book. The area is presently under surveillance.”